Article Category: Sport of Kings

JOHN MCSTAY’S STUD FEES

December 14, 2016

THERE IS an interesting figure buried in the 2015 accounts that have just been filed by the Irish National Stud (INS). In a... Read more »

TOM TAAFFE’S COMEBACK

December 14, 2016

FORTUNES RISE and fall all the time and despite all the despondency coming from trainers’ camps these days, they can be a pretty... Read more »

WILDENSTEIN SAVES THE DAY

December 1, 2016

A LOT of Irish breeders are taking a bit of a hammering at the moment. This was evident at Goffs foal and breeding... Read more »

BOLGER’S STRANGE STRATEGY

December 1, 2016

JIM BOLGER has generally tended to put his money where his mouth is. His early belief and investment in the stallion prowess of... Read more »

NO BRAINER FOR DESMOND

December 1, 2016

DERMOT DESMOND has never been a prolific owner of racehorses despite his staggering wealth but he seems to be dipping his toe in... Read more »

TURF CLUB TASK FORCE DISBANDED

December 1, 2016

THE TURF Club’s anti-doping task force is no more, having been disbanded following the latest meeting of its 16-strong squad. The task force... Read more »

Mick O’Leary’s penny-pinching

November 3, 2016

GIGGINSTOWN House Stud seems well on its way to treating its riders in the way Ryanair treats its pilots. Boss of both operations... Read more »

SLAP ON THE WRIST FOR DORAN

November 3, 2016

AS GOLDHAWK revealed (see The Phoenix 26/8/16), owner Tom Doran was rather aggrieved with the Turf Club over a case at the Galway... Read more »

CALLING ALL OWNERS

November 3, 2016

IT’S GOOD to see Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) has wasted little time in allocating some of its generous budget for 2017 with the... Read more »

O’LEARY GETting SOFT?

November 3, 2016

MICHAEL O’LEARY has found himself a new trainer and could there possibly be a hint of sentiment attached to his decision to send... Read more »

40 SHADES OF GREEN

October 20, 2016

THE IRISH were doing plenty of business with each other in Newmarket this month as Tattersalls held its annual bonanza – Book 1... Read more »

THE CARTYS CASH IN

October 20, 2016

WHILE THERE is no escaping the fact that the top echelons of the sport of thoroughbred horse breeding are dominated by the oil... Read more »

John Ferguson’s cheque book

October 20, 2016

THE COOLMORE clan weren’t the only ones flashing the cash at Newmarket. John Ferguson was spending money at a hectic pace and finished... Read more »

Kevin Sexton’s problem

October 20, 2016

Following the recent news that Danny Grant is facing time out over a failed drugs test, another jockey, Kevin Sexton, will also be... Read more »

A MIXED WEEK FOR BRIAN KAVANAGH

October 20, 2016

BRIAN KAVANAGH probably didn’t know whether to laugh or cry during Budget week. On one hand, he saw the Government dishing out almost... Read more »

COLM MURPHY’S EXIT

October 5, 2016

THE IRISH jumps scene will be missing some familiar faces this season. Not only will jockeys Adrian Heskin, Davy Russell and Jonathan Moore... Read more »

COBALT MILKSHAKES?

October 5, 2016

THE TURF CLUB has come under fire recently over its perceived inefficiency in implementing a new drug testing procedure for horses, particularly for... Read more »

Davy Russell’s moment of madness

October 5, 2016

DAVY RUSSELL seemed to lose the plot at Clonmel last week riding Little Folke to a narrow victory for Henry De Bromhead. Russell... Read more »

WILIE MULLINS’S ROUGH RIDE

October 5, 2016

MICK O’LEARY has managed to get into a stand-off with someone as stubborn as himself. Despite being faced with the prospect of losing... Read more »

GOFFS CHAMPIONS DAMP SQUIB

September 21, 2016

MUCH HAS been written about the success of Irish Champions Weekend and how the main race – the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes –... Read more »

Ruby Jockying for Position

September 21, 2016

WITH Sir Anthony McCoy not in the running for a position in the ITV racing team (or else not interested in a position)... Read more »

JOSEPH O’BRIEN V COOLMORE

September 21, 2016

JOSEPH O’BRIEN cut a slightly fuller figure recently when he made a brief return to race riding at Doncaster. On the training front,... Read more »

DANNY GRANT UNSADDLED YET AGAIN

September 21, 2016

JOCKEY Danny Grant is in hot water again over his troublesome eczema. Grant was removed from his intended mounts at Navan and Dundalk... Read more »

CULLOTY AND RUSSELL RIDE AGAIN

September 7, 2016

AT LAST, jockey Davy Russell and trainer Jim Culloty have sorted out their differences. The pair famously teamed up to land the Cheltenham... Read more »

GRASSICK GETS THE NOD

September 7, 2016

CONGRATULATIONS are due to Sally-Ann Grassick who has been selected to join the ITV racing team which takes over the terrestrial coverage of... Read more »

POT LUCK for Henry De BROMHEAD

September 7, 2016

IT WILL be recalled (see The Phoenix 3/6/16) that Alan and Ann Potts have severed ties with their original trainer, Henry De Bromhead.... Read more »

DAVID WACHMAN’S RETIREMENT

September 7, 2016

SO, WHAT next for David Wachman? After 20 years as a trainer, the 45-year-old has obviously decided there is more to life and... Read more »

LAVERY’S CLOSE CALL

August 24, 2016

SUMMERHILL, County Meath trainer Sheila Lavery had a close call recently when she almost fell victim to a scam. Lavery was contacted by... Read more »

MORE MONEY FOR POWERS

August 24, 2016

THE EUROPEAN yearling sales season kicked off in glamorous Deauville at Arqana in France earlier this month and Irish eyes were certainly smiling,... Read more »

WAGS’ MELBOURNE DREAM

August 24, 2016

THE SUCCESS of the Ruby Walsh-ridden Clondaw Warrior in the E300,000 Galway Hurdle last month sparked some joyous scenes. This was not surprising... Read more »

ME TARAZANI, YOU EXPLAIN

August 24, 2016

DERMOT WELD usually ends the Galway festival week of racing as the top trainer, but the honour this year was claimed by Willie... Read more »

LUKE COMER MAKES HIS COMEBACK

August 10, 2016

IT LOOKS like Luke Comer is planning a return to racing in a big way. The multimillionaire developer come horse trainer is well... Read more »